The Rainbow Heiress
by TwoTearsInABucket
Summary: Everypony's noticed Rainbow Dash has been developing expensive tastes, and they're worried she'll go broke. Unbeknownst to them, she just inherited millions of gold bits from a distant relative! Will she blow it all on fancy stuff? Make her friends hate her? Multi-chap, constructive criticism greatly appreciated! No smut. Rated T but honestly, I think the rating could be lower.
1. Chapter 1- The Letter

**I'm experimenting with longer stories. I honestly did not in any way expect to be writing MLP fics, but I like the characters and universe, so here we go!**

 **Rating: T, honestly I think the rating could be even lower but I like to play it safe. I think vague drug jokes are the worst thing in this.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own MLP! Not in any way!**

 **Warnings: There's no sexual references or smut, so don't go in secretly hoping for any. Much cleaner than my previous fic. Also, Rainbow Dash may have a bit less moral integrity than usual, but that's kind of the side of her I'm exploring, so slight OOCness from her, sorry if it bothers you!**

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The Rainbow Heiress

The alarm clock went off, its shrill ringing filling the room.

Rainbow rolled over in her bed, feeling the night's warmth trapped under the covers. _I_ _could stay here all day_ _if I wanted_ , she thought, with a content smile. The smile began fading, however, as shrill alarm reminded her she couldn't reach the shutoff from her bed.

Tossing the warm covers aside, she stood up on the bed, stretching her back and legs. There was a thud as she hopped to the floor, walking over to the shelf and switching off the alarm. _Time to get the mail,_ _AGAIN_ , she thought, scratching her flank as she moved to the door.

The sun was filtering through the windows as she made her way down the stairs and across the foyer. Opening the front door, she saw the usual mail pegasus standing on the doorstep, looking through his letter bag. He heard the door open and looked up. "Ah, hey Rainbow! Sorry there was no mail yesterday, there was a small fire at the post office." Rainbow's eyes shot open. "Whoa, did anyone get hurt?"

"No, luckily we all got out in time, but the safety bureau was all up in our business and we couldn't get anything delivered. Here's your mail from yesterday." He held out an envelope. "Huh. Well, thanks!" Rainbow said, taking the letter before cocking an eyebrow. "So are you sure I didn't get anything for today then?" The pegasus checked around in his bag some more. "No, that's all there was for this address. Sorry!" he turned and prepared to take off. "Well, have a nice day, Dash!" he said, lifting off and flying away." Rainbow waved bye, stopping when she realized she was probably outside his line of vision anyways. She closed the door, eying the envelope with a glint of curiosity as she began walking back to the stairs.

Ripping open the top, she pulled out a sheet of paper and unfolded it, looking it over.

 _'_ _To Miss Dash,_

 _We regret to inform you of the passing of a very distant relative, Madame Mittie Dash. You are her only surviving heir, and as such, you are the sole recipient of the Dash family estate. The executor of the final will has taken ownership of all physical assets to pay for their services, but the remainder, as listed here, shall pass to you. To the account of Rainbow Dash of Ponyville, the sum of 10,795,367 gold bits shall be transferred as a non-revokable bank transaction by noon on the day you receive this letter. The transaction shall be….'_

The letter dropped to the floor. Rainbow's jaw was practically touching the floor. She was trying to think but her brain didn't seem to be cooperating at the moment. Her legs were shaking as she began hobbling over to the cloud couch, collapsing face down onto the cushions. What did she just read? Did she actually have ten million golden bits in her bank account? No. That amount was just too much to imagine. She felt her nerves tingling. _I've gotta tell_ someone _, before I go insane!_ _No, I must've read it wrong. I_ must've, _right?_ She got up, feeling a bit more stable, and walked over to pick the letter back up off the ground. Her eyes scanned it, finding it to say the exact same thing. She pinched herself on the leg. _Okay, I'm not dreaming. There's gotta be something else I'm missing… what if this is a prank?_ She saw a wax seal stamped onto the letter, and felt an embossed ring under her hoof. The paper even had a watermark, she saw, holding the paper up to the light. _Maybe I can get Twilight to_ _inspect_ _it_ _for me_ _? She's pretty smart.._

A few minutes later she was cutting through the air, swooping down to the center of Ponyville. She slowed down, her hooves touched down right outside Twilight's Library. "Would Twilight be home?" she wondered, clopping over to the door. She raised her hand up to knock on the door, hesitating at the last second. Wasn't there an old pony rhyme or something? " _Never tell your friends you're rich; they'll beg,_ _then_ _leave you in the ditch_ ", wasn't it? No, Twilight wouldn't. Good ol' Twilight wouldn't do that, right? I mean, the library did need a new roof.. maybe she could pay for that later? She snapped from her train of thought as she heard the door open.

"Hey, Rainbow, aren't you gonna knock to come in or something? You've been standing there for a minute already." Rainbow took a step back, thinking about the letter and trying to keep her voice steady. "Oh, h-hey, Twilight! Uhhhh, I was just over here to… to… to wish you happy morning!" Her cheeks began to pinken as she realized how awkward that sounded. "I mean.. you know, like a good morning wish?" She tried to fake a smile. Twilight cocked her head to the side, appearing not to be buying it. "Uhh, Dash, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'm fine! It's not weird to wish people good morning, right!" There was a silence as Twilight continued to eye her.

Rainbow looked up at a nearby clock tower. "Oh, would you look at that? I've gotta go eat breakfast! I guess I must've skipped it to come wish you happy morning. Haha! I'm so silly, right? Well, see ya later!" She turned around and took off as fast as she could, feeling her forehead cooling from the air rushing over her now sweaty forehead. _Am I really that bad at lying?_ _And I wasn't actually afraid Twilight would start begging for money, right? Right, I mean, I may not be as generous as Rarity, but I wouldn't be afraid of paying for the roof, would I?_ No, she reasoned, she just didn't feel ready to reveal the news. Yeah, that was it! That sounded good.

She came back to reality, realizing she'd been running aimlessly for a few blocks by now. Where'd she tell Twilight she was going again? She felt her stomach grumble and remembered she was on her way to the bakery.

Opening the bakery door, she smelled the familiar scent of baked goods wafting around her as she walked in. Pinkie Pie was behind the counter, loading some cookies into the display cabinet. "Hey, Rainbow, you're up early! Something going on?" Rainbow's face froze. "Uhmmm, nooo, I was just hungry."

"Really? You've never been here anywhere _near_ this early before."

"Well, maybe I just wanted to go on a morning flight around the town and got hungry! What's it to you?" Pinkie was now looking a bit upset. Rainbow cringed. "Ughh, sorry for yelling at you, Pinkie, I must be crabby because I'm so hungry… yeah! That makes sense, right?" Pinkie's face softened a bit. "Oh, yeah, anything particular you had in mind? We have a new egg muffin, but Derpy's been buying out all our stock. I hid a few, in case you'd like one, hmmm?"

Rainbow was now staring into the display cabinet intently. Maybe a nice cupcake? A breakfast panini?

The gilded croissant?

She'd never been able to afford one of _those_ before, they were just too expensive… at least they _used_ to be….

"Hey, Pinkie, can I have the croissant?" Pinkie looked over. "Uhhh, you're not talking about the gilded one, right? We only keep those there for the pretentious big-spender pegasi, you know..."

"Pinkie, you know I'm not pretentious! I don't _think_ so, at least... It's just, you only live once, ya know?" Pinkie leaned over the counter. "Uhm, Rainbow, I know it's not my place to say this, but are you _sure_ you want that?" she whispered, "It's _seventy gold bits!_ " Rainbow looked her in the eye. "Pinkie, I can afford it. I _swear_. Please?"

"Rainbow, they're not even very good, they taste like yeast!"

"Pinkie! I just wanna try one, okay? Don't worry, I set aside some money for it. I can afford it just fine!"

Pinkie was eying her with a suspicious look in her eyes. "Okay, I guess, if you want it _that much…._ " She grabbed the croissant from the cabinet and handed it to her over the counter, little bits of flaky gold leaf falling off. "That'll be seventy golden bits.." she said. Rainbow recognized her faint tone to imply the croissant was a waste of money, but decided to just ignore it. She reached into a satchel around her waist and grabbed a handful of bits, setting them on the counter. "Does that look like around seventy?"

The pony behind the counter now had her mouth hanging open. "Rainbow," she almost hissed, "why are you throwing away so much money without even so much as _counting_ it?!" Rainbow shrugged, adding to the pile of bits on the counter. Pinkie's face was now completely confused. She finally shook her head and began counting the bits. "Rainbow, I'm not keeping the change. You're going to pay the proper amount fair and square, no more and no less, okay?" Rainbow nodded, taking a bite of the croissant. She chewed for a second, her face contorting. "Bleck!" she yelled, throwing the remaining pastry in the trash.

Pinkie was beginning to look annoyed. She leaned over the counter, checking to make sure nobody else was in the room. "Okay, Rainbow, now this is just a one time thing, but I'll give you the money back. They're so overpriced just to turn a higher profit, and I think Mr. Cake would understand if you didn't know what you were buying. But you can't tell anyone, okay?" Rainbow chuckled. "Thanks, but _don't worry about it_. I bought it, and have to pay for it, that's just how it works."

Pinkie closed the door to the display cabinet. "Uhhh, Rainbow, are you feeling alright today? You've been acting a little off since you came in, you know." Rainbow jerked up from the display cabinet. "Are you kidding me? I'm just up and out a little early, remember?"

"No, I mean you were never really a big spender, no offense… and just now, you jerked your head around so quickly, are you on edge about something?"

Rainbow let out a forced chuckle. "I gotta go home, I… I probably forgot to lock my front door! Don't want those neighbors snooping around, right?" Just then, the doorbell rang. The two ponies turned to see Twilight walking in. "Hey! Watcha talking about?"

Pinkie was looking back and forth between Rainbow and Twilight. "Uhhh…. I'm not allowed to discuss customer transactions without permission, so…" Rainbow's face was turning a faint red. Twilight seemed to notice, her curiosity obviously piqued. "Rainbow, you're not buying stuff with _illegal ingredients_ , are you?"

"Uhhh, I gotta go! See ya guys later!" She made a break for the door, letting it slam behind her. "Pinkie, what's going on?" Twilight walked over to the cabinet. "She was acting weird over at my house too this morning."

"What?! Did you guys have another sleepover without telling me?!" Pinkie whined. "You said you weren't gonna do that anymore!"

"Pinkie, calm down! We weren't having a slumber party! She just showed up this morning, acting all nervous. I'm honestly a little worried something might be going on with her." Pinkie thought for a few seconds. "Well, I'm not allowed to talk about what she _bought_ or how much she _paid_ , but go look in the trash can, I might've seen her throw something of hers away." Twilight walked over to the bin in the corner, peering down into it.

"Is this a… a gold covered croissant?! Pinkie, why do you even _sell_ these?!" Pinkie gave a giggle. "You'd be surprised, we only sell one a month, but they still turn a ridiculous profit. It can be the difference between a bad day and a great day in terms of sales." Twilight glanced at the door for a second, squinting. "How did she afford something like that? I mean, her house _is_ huge and all, but building with clouds is practically free! This is just… completely unlike her!"

Pinkie nodded in agreement. Twilight had begun pacing in front of the counter. "I don't know if I should be worried, but I can't help it. Maybe this was just a one-time splurge?" Pinkie sighed, walked out from behind the counter. "She _did_ say she'd been saving up… you know, Twilight, I really don't like doing this sort of thing, but if you're _that worried_ , we _do_ know somepony who could probably collect some insider info for us, you catch my drift?" Twilight stopped pacing, a devious smile forming on her lips. "You know, I think I do. It _is_ for her own good, after all..."

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 **I'm writing this as kind of an exercise to get my writing up to MLP fanfic par. I just read some pretty good stuff and it's making me feel like I need more practice. So, constructive criticism is highly appreciated, even encouraged. Don't feel pressured to though! :)**


	2. Chapter 2- The Dress

**Hey, here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy it. Don't worry, the character voices are much better this time, I think you should for the most part be able to tell who says what by their word choice. Hopefully that'll make everyone seem at least a bit more in-character.**

 **I'm starting to worry the pacing is going too fast, but I'm honestly not sure if I should begin throwing in paragraphs here and there to slow things down, or just get right to it, ya know?**

 **I also made sure to break up the paragraphs a bit more so you don't get those huge walls of text from the first chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: Again, I don't own MLP.**

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Chapter 2- The Dress

Rainbow couldn't help but notice her footsteps echoing throughout the room.

The bank had marble floors. She couldn't help but wonder if she could now afford marble floors too. _Not that she wanted them_ , she reminded herself, giving a nervous chuckle. An old pony in a suit was waiting behind the desk, watching her as she approached.

"Welcome to First Ponyville National, the finest bank in Equestria. How may we serve you today?"

Rainbow looked around the room, not wanting to make eye contact. "Uhh, well I just came into a lotta money, and I wanna withdraw some, so how 'bout it?" The pony's eyebrows lowered. "Yes, we can certainly do that for you. Do you have your vault key?"

"Oh, yeah! Just a sec." Rainbow reached into her satchel, retrieving the key and handing it across the desk. "Very well, Miss Dash, please follow me."

She rounded the desk and followed the pony down a hallway lined with thousands of little metal doors. He fit the key into one, turning it and pulling out the drawer. Rainbow looked in, her eyes widening as she saw it was filled with hundreds and hundreds of golden bits.

"Wait… so you're telling me, this is _all mine?_ As in _ALL_ mine?" The pony looked at her. "Yes, this is a small fraction of your holdings. We only keep small amounts accessible at one time for maximum security; this is approximately one hundredth of your total holdings as of today." Rainbow's jaw dropped.

"We don't have all day, Miss Dash. Please, if you would, make a withdrawal or deposit." Rainbow shook herself out of her shock and began scooping handfuls of coins into her satchel, hearing them clink. "Okay, that should probably be enough for today, thanks!" The pony closed the drawer.

 **-XXX-**

There was a knock on the door. Fluttershy looked up, setting down her book to walk over to the door. Opening it, she smiled to find Twilight and Pinkie Pie. "Oh, hello, I wasn't expecting you guys, just over for a nice visit?" Twilight shook her head. "We have some stuff to discuss, can we come in?"

"Oh, I guess so, it's a mess in here, but I guess, if you'd still like to." Pinkie giggled. "Fluttershy, you're too _hard_ on yourself! This place is _way_ cleaner than _my_ room!" Fluttershy sat down in a plush beanbag, smiling. "Thanks, I do try… I've been practicing using feather dusters, but my bird friends all give me angry looks when I do. So, what did you two want to discuss? Would you like some tea?"

Twilight took a seat opposite the beanbag. "Well, it's actually about Rainbow Dash. See, she's been acting suspicious lately… she keeps blushing and acting all jittery. Do you know anything about why she's so weird all of a sudden?" Pinkie Pie sat down on the floor between them. "You know, you can totally tell us! We just wanna make her all happy-sappy again, right?" Fluttershy appeared to be concentrating, looking up at the ceiling. "Well, no, I didn't actually notice anything when we hung out yesterday, sorry… but maybe something happened last night or this morning?"

Twilight wrinkled her brow. "She also bought a really expensive pastry this morning, she's just throwing her money around! This could be dangerous, I mean, she's not exactly rich! I have to pay for her lunch all the time, but now she's buying herself golden pastries? Do you think she's been taking advantage of us?"

Fluttershy smiled, shaking her head. "Oh, she would _never_ do that… she respects us all too much to try that, don't you think?" Pinkie stood up. "Well, this is why we came here. You and Rainbow are such good friends, we just _knew_ you could figure out what's going on for us! We tried to ask, but she just made weird excuses and ran away!" Twilight nodded her head. "Yeah, so you'll need to be really cautious how you approach this, okay?" Fluttershy shook her head again. "You want me to trick her into telling us her secrets?!"

Twilight waved her hands in front of her. "No, no! Well… we just need you to find out what's going on so we can all work together to help her through it! Go on a fly together, and ask her if something's wrong. Tell her you won't judge her, you just want to help. Don't let her know we asked you to, though." Fluttershy was noticeably uncomfortable. "Pinkie, you think this is a good idea too? I mean, isn't that betraying her trust in me?"

"No, of course not, silly! It's just using it for her advantage!"

"So I'm taking advantage of it?"

"Well, yes, but… in a good way!" Twilight interjected, "It's our responsibility as her friends to get her through this, and the _reason_ it's our responsibility is because we're the ones who _have_ this friendship!" Fluttershy looked to be calming down. "Okay, you guys, if you're _that sure_..."

 **-XXX-**

Rainbow was cantering down the street, looking side to side. All these stores never really caught her attention before, but now that she could afford it, every display window was a distraction. Maybe a new bed? An expensive macchiato? Or what about that rainbow couch? Then something caught her eye. It was a large, colorful banner hanging in front of Rarity's Boutique.

' _Grand Galloping Gala Dresses!_

 _The perfect dress for every mare! Make an entrance dressed with flare!_ '

 _(perfect stuff for colts too if you'd like)_

 _Should I go to that?_ _I mean,_ _I can_ _totally_ _afford it now_ … she shook her head, decided against it. I mean, who wanted to go to a big fancy ball when you could be lounging in the sun on a fluffy cloud? She still wanted to see rarity, though.

Opening the door, she saw the showroom was packed with mares, all clamoring over dresses. She noticed they were all along the walls, looking at the dresses in front of the windows. The dresses in the center of the room only had one or two ponies eying them.

"Why, Rainbow Dash! What a pleasant surprise!"

Rainbow looked over and saw Rarity sauntering over. "Hey, Rarity, why isn't anypony interested in those dresses in the middle?" Rarity leaned in towards Rainbow's ear, whispering. " _Those_ are the really expensive ones, from the beginning they were intended exclusively for unicorns from _Canterlot_. Those plain, _blase_ ones by the windows are for the _regulars_ , they're much more... _affordable_." Now that she said it, the dresses in the middle of the room did seem to have loads more jewels on them.

"Err, Rainbow, you weren't planning on buying a dress, were you? I mean, don't misunderstand me, you'd look absolutely _fabulous_ in one, but you never seem interested in the… _frillier_ side of life, you understand what I mean?"

Rainbow closed her eyes, smiling. "Nope, don't worry, I just wanted to talk to you. Did these take a long time to make?"

"Oh, like you wouldn't _believe_! I had to work my hooves to the bone all last night, just to complete one. Actually, would you be a dear and come over here and see it? I've been _dying_ for some honest feedback!" Rainbow followed Rarity across the showroom floor to the circular display in the center. She stopped in front of the frilliest, poofiest dress Rainbow had ever seen. "So, what _do_ _you_ think?"

Rainbow honestly thought it was tacky and overwrought, but tried to force a smile, hoping it would look better than the one this morning. "It's… perfect for those darn people from Canterlot, _that's_ for sure!" She felt a hoof over her mouth, Rarity leaning in close again. "Don't bad-mouth unicorns in my store, they're my most profitable equientele! Rainbow, now, business is half work and half presentation! You simply can't _say_ that sort of stuff in the showroom!"

Just then, a unicorn mare and colt walked up to them. The colt spoke up, clearing his throat first. "Are you the owner of this establishment?" Rarity nodded. The colt continued, "My _wife_ is looking for a dress to attend the ball with, and we were hoping to find something acceptable here, although it appears we may have to go somewhere else. Show us your finest dress, if you would."

Rarity blinked, nodding and walking around the circular display. "Here, we have all our most beautiful, valuable dresses on display. I really do hope you'll find one you deem to be acceptable." The couple cantered around, looking at each dress with a frown. The mare looked at Rarity. "Are you _sure_ don't have anything better? We were hoping to at least find _one_ we could buy."

Rainbow's mouth was agape. They didn't like even _one_ of these dresses? Rarity was looking flustered. "Uhm, I… I… yes! Why, there's one in back! I'm sure it'd be _perfect_ for you!" She galloped through a curtain into the back room and reappeared a few seconds later, nudging a dress stand holding a beautiful gown, covered in swags, folds, flowers, and every kind of bedazzling imaginable. The mare smiled.

"Yes, that's a little better. I guess, if there's _really_ nothing better, we'll take it. If that's _actually_ the best here, I guess we could settle, I mean, I really don't feel like going to another store."

Rainbow noticed herself visibly scowling at the two unicorns. She looked at Rarity, and saw her looking at the floor. She looked like she wanted to cry.

"WAIT! _I'M_ taking that one, ya hear?!" Rainbow shouted at the unicorns. Rarity's head jerked up, shooting Rainbow a surprised stare.

"Yeah! This dress, right here, it's mine! Got it? I reserved it yesterday! So HA!" Rarity's eyes were wider than she'd ever seen them before. "So, how about you two just get outta here, huh?" There was a silence as everypony in the store turned to look what was happening,

"I have never been thus treated in my entire life!" The mare turned on her heel, walking towards the door and dragging her husband with her. The little bell dinged as they left. Everypony slowly turned back to the dresses, whispering.

"Uhh-uhhh, _Rainbow_ , would you accompany me to the back room?"

Rainbow noticed the forced smile on Rarity's face. Was that how _she_ looked when she fake smiled, too? She followed Rarity behind the curtains in the back wall. Rarity immediately turned around, looking furious.

"What the heck were you just _thinking_?!" she hissed, "You just cost me _six hundred golden bits in sales_! Do you even _realize_ how many plain dresses I'll have to sell to make up for that?!"

Rainbow looked down at the floor. "Sorry, Rarity, it's just, I couldn't _stand_ watching them insult your dresses like that! I know how much of yourself you put into them! But don't worry, You're not gonna be out the money, I'm gonna _buy_ that dress!"

Rarity scoffed. " _Please_ , Rainbow, I don't mean to sound _disrespectful_ , but that's fully a season's income for you! I'm not putting you in the poorhouse!"

"Rarity, I'm not gonna be broke! I actually… I was saving up for something big, but I'll put the money towards the dress! It's not a problem, trust me! I'd rather be broke than watch them trash talk your business!"

"Well, now, thanks to you, they're gonna trash talk my business to every unicorn in Canterlot! Rainbow, this happens to be a huge deal! And I'm _absolutely not_ letting you go broke just to save me two weeks' revenue, so don't even _think_ about it!"

Rainbow could feel pressure building behind her eyes. She galloped out into the show room and tore the dress off the Unicornnequin, dragging it over to the sales desk. Rarity galloped over to the desk. "Rainbow! Just what do you think you're doing?!"

Rainbow lifted up her satchel and dumped poured hundreds of golden bits out onto the desk, making a huge clattering sound as many of them rolled off onto the floor. Rarity's jaw dropped. "I.. I forbid you to buy that dress!" she yelled, watching in shock as the pony dragged it in her teeth on her way out the door.

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 **I really hope that was better than the first chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3- The Intel

**Chapter 3's here! Ugh, I really wish this one was longer, but it just seemed like the perfect place to end the chapter. This chapter really doesn't have the flow when you're reading it that** **I wanted it to have. :/ I've noticed when I read fanfics I like, they never take it exactly where I'm expecting it, but it's always amazing and fun where it goes, so I'm gonna try to keep that in mind when I write chapter 4. Also, I gotta make the scenes flow a little better, I think?**

 **Oh, I forgot to mention it in chapter 2, but I got my first review! Thanks, bluecatcinema! I sure hope it turns out to be as interesting as you'd like!**

 **Warnings: uhhh I actually don't think Rainbow Dash is OOC, but if you guys think she is, don't be afraid to complain! (Preferably not in the form of flames)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own MLP! If I did it would be a very different show, admittedly not necessarily for the better, heh.**

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Chapter 3- The Intel

The air was rushing through her rainbow mane and stinging her eyes as she soared through the sky, dragging the heavy dress behind her. Trying not to think about what had happened back in the dress store, she had pressed it to the back of her mind. Her house's silhouette had by now become visible through the clouds. Her hooves sunk slightly into the soft cloud as she landed in the front yard, pulling the dress towards the front door.

Opening the door, she dragged the dress over the threshold and onto the foyer floor, smearing bits of cloud everywhere. _Dang it, where am I even gonna put this thing, the couch?_ Glancing over to the couch, she jumped and screamed, noticing the pegasus sitting on it.

"Sorry, Sorry! Rainbow, don't be mad at me! I just wanted to… to talk? Yeah." Rainbow's stomach dropped. _Crap, did_ _Fluttershy f_ _ind_ _the inheritance letter?!_ She looked around, hoping she hadn't left it out on the floor. Almost collapsing with relief, she remembered she'd left it in the kitchen on the counter.

"Uhhh, sure, Fluttershy, we can talk. I just gotta go do something, I think I'll… get a snack! Just a sec!" She dropped the dress, running down the hall into the kitchen to find the letter still laying on the cloud counter, just where she'd left it. Snatched it up, she hastily hid it in the silverware drawer before going back down the hall. Fluttershy was now crouching down in the foyer, examining every inch of the dress. "Rainbow, I had no _idea_ you liked fancy dresses like this! And I gotta say, it goes well with your eyes."

"Fluttershy, you can't just barge in here! What if something secret was laying around?!"

"Oh, sorry, was this dress a secret? I promise not to tell anypony, don't worry. And didn't you say I could drop by any time?"

 _Crap, I_ did _tell her that… "_ Uhh, yeah! I didn't want anyone to know, but I… I have a thing for frilly dresses! But you can't tell _any_ _pony_ , okay?" She felt herself beginning to sweat, hoping Fluttershy wouldn't question it.

"Oh! So _that's_ what it was!"

"What what was?"

"The reason everypony else said you were acting funny! Oh, they're all gonna laugh so hard when they find out it was just a dress!"

Oh, _great_. Everypony knew Flutter couldn't keep a secret, even if it _was_ a _fake_ one. "No, you can't tell them I like frufru, okay? I don't want them to know!"

"I guess, but I have to tell them _something_! They won't let up until we tell them something, I can tell..." She turned to the dress again, examining the stitching. "How about I say you have a shoplifting addition?"

"Hey! I didn't steal it!"

"Sorry, it's just that this dress looks really, really expensive, you could probably even go to the Grand Galloping Gala in it." Rainbow cringed. "I actually wasn't planning on going to that, I mean, you know how all those rich people are… besides, I couldn't afford a ticket!"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot about that! Just, Rainbow, will you promise me one thing?" Rainbow looked up.

"If you're worried and keeping a secret, would you just tell me next time? I don't want you stressing. You know how nice it feels to finally get something out in the open?"

Rainbow looked at the floor, thinking about the silverware drawer.

"Yeah, I will. Uhhh… Thanks, Fluttershy." The yellow pony smiled. "Don't mention it. Come on, let's get this thing upstairs and put it away."

 **-XXX-**

Twilight was on her bed reading again. "Twilight!"

She looked up to see Fluttershy galloping up the stairs. "Twilight, are you.. oh, good you're here! I just got back from Rainbow Dash's house! You won't _believe_ what she was so worried about!"

Twilight set down her book. "Oh, great! She wasn't pulling a Pinkamena, was she?"

"No, it's actually even weirder than that! She has this _huge_ , poofy dress and doesn't want anybody to know! Isn't it _cute_? She acts all tomcolt-ish, but in the end she just couldn't resist the frills! I _knew_ it, I _swear_!"

Twilight frowned. "Well, not gonna lie, I actually thought it was kinda cute that she was so comfortable being _different_ , but I guess this is adorable in its own weird way… so any chance she'd be willing to talk to the _rest_ of us about it?

"Oh, I don't know about that. She seemed a bit embarrassed, actually. We should probably pretend we don't know."

Twilight cocked her eyebrows. "We're gonna be supportive, though, right? We have to show her we'd still like her just the same as a girly girl."

Ooh!" Spike said, "How about we drop lots of subtle hints everywhere! We'll show her we're comfortable with the idea, but we _definitel_ y won't let her know we all know!"

"Uhh, wait, I think I might have a better idea" said Fluttershy. "How about, and please tell me if this is a terrible idea, but what if we all held a party, and after she showed up, we'd reveal it was a dress-up party! We could dress her up in the girliest outfit ever, and maybe she'd admit its not so bad? What do you all think?"

Twilight had a twisted grin on her face. "Okay, but if she starts looking uncomfortable, we're gonna stop, okay?"

Fluttershy began looking worried. "Well, we wouldn't force her to do it if she didn't secretly like it, right? I'll tell Pinkie about it! You know how much she _loves_ _organizing parties_."

 **-XXX-**

Rainbow was lying in bed, tossing and turning. _What if Fluttershy had come in the back door and saw the letter on the kitchen counter?_ No! She had been acting so natural! Everybody knew how bad Fluttershy was at lying; if she'd known, she wouldn't have been able to hide it! At least, that's what she was trying convince herself.

What was she going to do with all this money? Just sit on it? Roll around in it? Earlier that day, she'd been considering giving some to her friends, but she knew deep down it was a terrible idea. Money always corrupted people, and on the list of people he didn't want to change, her best friends were at the top. Just look at all the frivolous things she'd been buying after she got the money! If her friends all had a million golden bits, she knew their friendship wouldn't last very long. Heck, she wouldn't be surprised if her friendships were _already_ breaking because of the money! Just thinking about the problems she caused Rarity _today_ was enough to prove _that_.

This was difficult. Spending it all on herself was out of the question, but she knew if she told them about the inheritance, they'd never quit bugging her for money. Even if she just split up the money up front, they'd all begin feeling as rotten as she felt herself slowly becoming. She'd rather have them all hate _her_ than have them all hate _each other_. The only option left was to covertly dish it out as the needs arose, but they were already getting suspicious! How the hay did _any_ _pony_ deal with this?! If only she'd even _known_ her Aunt Mittie, maybe she could have visited and found out what it took to be rich! Could she ask _Celestia_? " _Hey, Celestia, how do you deal with having so much money on a daily basis?"_ No, that sounded like a terrible question. Was it safe for the royal family to know she was rich? What if Celestia let slip to _Twilight_?!

Rolling over, she looked out the window into the dark night sky. She'd heard the stories of the lottery winners blowing through the cash, but she doubted there was anything in all of Equestria you could blow ten million gold bits on, let alone anything _she'd_ want.

She sat up. Well, actually, there _was one_ thing she'd always wanted… ever since she was a filly, something she'd never really stopped wanting for. People had been telling her all her life it could never happen, but now that she had the money, it was only a matter of time until she had connections… and with connections…

she could finally become a _Wonderbolt_.

 **-XXX-**

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Spike!"

"Yeah, see ya!" He watched as Fluttershy walked out into the dark.

Closing the door, he turned away and walked up the stairs to the bedroom. "Twilight, you asleep yet?" he whispered into the dark room. There was no reply from the lump on the bed. He slowly pulled the door shut, watching the sliver of light falling on the bed grow thinner and thinner.

A lamp clicked on in downstairs. Spike pulled out a piece of parchment, opening a bottle of ink and gingerly dipping a quill into it. He put the pen to the paper.

' _Celestia, don't worry, they haven't figured it out yet.'_

* * *

 **Ooh, I sure hope this story comes out coherently, because I admittedly don't have an outline :/**


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